I came across chrome-extension://kjnclckkljgkjkephofiphecmokenanp/http://globalscienceresearchjournals.org/full-articles/the-effects-of-yucca-schidigera-on-blood-glucose-and-lipid-levels-in-diabetic-rats.pdf?view=inline. the bottom line summary is:
"we suggest that yucca can be used as a supportive agent in blood glucose regulation of diabetics"
A paper from Turkey looking at an extract of Mojave Yucca in rats. I guess we have seen it all. The diabetic rats showed improvement. That is great, but I think it is a little overextended to say that these mutant rats bear any relation to regular rats let alone humans. I think the authors meant to suggest that it could be explored further. I certainly wouldn't leap to using it. We always need to be very careful. Just because something comes from a natural source and because it has been around a while and been granted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status by the FDA doesn't actually mean it is safe especially when you are talking about extracts and concentrates. The FDA has a very difficult time removing approvals, lots of people have to be provably harmed, don't be one of them.
True. Here's another one that's an interesting read:http://spectrum.diabetesjournals.org/content/14/4/218.full. Just jump to the summary. These are from journals and/or .org sites. One would think that these articles may be a bit more rigorously "screened" than a dot com site that would have purely mercenary motives for their existence. I have heard numerous people speak of bittermelon from personal experiences.
I frequent a restaurant that serves yucca fries. The only thing I can say is that I like them. I have never noticed any difference in my bg.
No, no, no. Listen to the information given by Brian and don't do these type "cures". There is a good book our by the name of "Think like a pancreas". You might benefit from reading it. vpg
Well, if lizard spit can help Type 2's, I guess anything is possible. These kinds of things are interesting to keep an eye on, but the best treatment for Type 2 and to help control BG's in Type 1's is a lower carbohydrate diet. Focus on meats, cheeses, eggs, nuts, and green veggies. Oils, butter, and non-sweet sauces and gravies are fine. Avoid bread, rice, pasta, fruit and sweets. If you keep each meal below 25-30g and have a 15g snack at night, you will lose weight and BG's will be much easier to control. Also get some moderate exercise each day. 30 minutes or two 15-minute walks works well.
It is interesting you bring up lizard spit as Byetta was discovered as the saliva of the Gila monster and then synthesized. Lizard spit is used by the Gila monster to stun and kill prey. It was synthesized and approved as Byetta by the FDA in specific dosing. I think this is a good example of what I said above. Just because Byetta has been demonstrated to be useful in T2 shouldn't be used to argue that we should go out and collect lizard spit since it is presumably "natural" and then think it is safe to use. We could of course end up stunned and dead just like Gila monster prey.